The word ‘personality’ is often and quite rightly associated with sentient human beings followed closely by domesticated pets, but could it be said that furniture has a personality of sorts?

In the usual sense, an inanimate object cannot have a personality, but what it can have is the ability to evoke an emotion whether that be through beauty, history or otherwise. For something inanimate to have such an effect on somebody, it perhaps holds a reflection of the creator’s personality.

Looking at a Persian or Oriental rug, your eye immediately recognises it’s a fabric piece but just knowing a brief history about the rug can make it a whole lot more interesting. The knots in the rugs are often created by hand, can you imagine the feelings of the person beginning this almighty task knowing there’s a long way ahead before the rug starts looking anything like a rug. Can you also imagine the pride, delight and passion the same person has when the rug is nearing completion?

To you, the rug is a beautiful addition to your home, to the creator, it’s the product of many days work to put food on the family table. It represents economic independence, it represents the skills that have been passed down through generations over a thousand years. It’s certainly more than just fabric when you know even the smallest thing.

From another angle, how does the rug make you feel when you have time to appreciate it? Does the carefully woven material offer some comfort underfoot at the end of a long day at work; do the vibrant colours offer a welcome change of scenery in stark contrast to the computer screen you’ve been in front of all day?

To conclude, it’s not important to debate the question of personality but rather more important to know that it invokes an emotion within you.